SB 930 is a critical senate bill for California's licensed cannabis industry. Please send a support letter to Senator Hertzberg on your professional letterheads. Please feel free to copy and paste the following text:

SB 930 creates a limited purpose state charter bank license that would be administered and regulated by the Department of Business Oversight. Privately-funded banks that receive this charter would be able to provide limited banking and custodial services to licensed cannabis and cannabis-related businesses. Under SB 930, banks could issue checks to account-holders to only be used for the following purposes:

•Pay state and local taxes and fees,

•Pay vendors from California for goods and services provided to the cannabis business,

• Pay rent, and

•Purchase state and local bonds and other debt instruments.

The use and consumption of medical marijuana was legalized in California in 1996, and Proposition 64 legalized adult-use cannabis as of January 2018. However, due to cannabis’ federal classification as a Schedule I drug, cannabis-related businesses are not able to deposit income with federally-insured financial institutions. The cannabis industry is expected to generate between $8-20 billion annually. This is a massive industry that we can only expect will continue to grow; yet cultivation, distribution, and retail businesses alike have been forced to operate on a cash-only basis. This is not only impractical from an accounting perspective, but also presents a significant public safety issue.

SB 930 allows cannabis-related businesses to open accounts and deposit income in banks that hold a limited purpose state charter created under this bill